Having recently had a five-game win streak snapped with a 4-1 loss at the hands of St. Michael's on Jan. 10, the hockey team was looking to regain some momentum in the middle of its five-game road stretch.
Friday's 5-2 loss to Skidmore and Saturday's 11-2 loss to Castleton State did anything but that.
The pair of dropped decisions, part of a three-game skid, sunk the Jumbos to .500 on the season with a 6-6 record.
On Saturday, the Jumbos took the lead only once in the game, when junior Joe Rosano opened the scoring with an unassisted strike at 3:45 of the first period for his second goal of the season. Castleton junior Eric Curtis knotted the score less than four minutes later, setting off a massive Spartans attack for which the Jumbos had no answer. Tufts did not score again until freshman Evan Story notched his fourth goal of the season at 14:22 of the final frame, but by that time the Spartans had already buried 10 unanswered goals to take a commanding 10-1 lead.
"We've been having trouble scoring goals," coach Brian Murphy said. "It's not that we aren't getting chances, but we are struggling to finish in front of the cage."
Outshot 47 to 22, the Jumbos were never able to take control of the game. They failed to convert on six power plays and allowed the Spartans three power-play goals on five opportunities, a stark contrast to the .833 penalty kill percentage they had posted before the loss.
"The biggest thing is doing the little things and winning the smaller battles," senior co-captain Dave Antonelli said. "This team is very deep and can come at teams in waves, and we've gotten away from that. We've played a style that is not ours."
Freshman Scott Barchard started the game but was chased from the goal after the second period, having allowed five goals on 33 shots. Freshman Evin Koleini and junior Jay McNamara split the third period but couldn't put a damper on the scoring rampage, allowing six goals on a combined 14 shots.
Friday's 5-2 loss to Skidmore was a much less skewed result, but the Jumbos continued to struggle offensively away from their home ice. In eight road games this season, the Jumbos are 2-6 with just 17 goals, while they are undefeated and have scored 19 times in their four games at the Forum.
"We cannot score one or two goals a game and expect to win consistently," Murphy said.
Similarly to Saturday's game, Tufts got no help from its power play, which was 0-for-5 on the night.
"We have to get our power play going again," senior Jared Melillo said. "We've been doing it well in practice."
After the Jumbos and Thoroughbreds traded goal for goal through the first half of the game, the score sat tied at 2-2 past the midway point of the second period. At the 14:24 mark, Skidmore senior Tim Welsh rang a shot off the crossbar that, with a bit of a lucky bounce, found its way into the back the back of the net. The tally would turn out to be the game-winner, as the Jumbos could not find the net again, whereas the Thoroughbreds beat Barchard twice more in the third period for a total of five goals on 34 shots.
Despite their third consecutive loss, the young Jumbo squad is not ready to quit.
"It's not time to push the panic button yet," Antonelli said. "We're a little inconsistent, which comes with being a young team, but guys are willing to step up into all different roles. We're a younger bunch, but at the same time at different points in the season, people from different classes have each stepped up as leaders."
"We need to get back to what we were doing while winning," Melillo added. "Our team identity is to work hard and play tough. We just need to stick to the basics and make simple plays."
